The Hawaii Streak

February 09, 2005

This animation created by the Night Sky Live(1) project shows a mysterious streak that was captured by their cameras in Hawaii on Dec. 17, 2004. Click here(2) to view a larger animation and further details.
During Tuesday's first hour, two guests reacted to the streak. First astronomer Seth Shostak of SETI(3) shared his analysis, suggesting that the object was at least 1,300 miles up and may have been related to a fuel discharge from a launched satellite. Next,planetary scientist David Grinspoon weighed in, commenting that the streak is currently a genuine mystery. While he finds the satellite theory credible, he said "it's not an open and shut case."